In findings that have major medical and historical implications for people of Indian descent, David Reich and his international collaborators report strong evidence for both a shared ancestry not found anywhere else in the world and a more recent consolidation of distinct lines of descent. This latter pattern of inheritance arises when a limited number of “founders” originate the generations that follow, a phenomenon that predicts a high rate of recessive-gene disorders in modern Indian groups. The study appears in the Sept. 24 Nature.

Harvard Catalyst has released Grant Central, a new online service to help researchers find grants and recruit collaborators. The publicly available service on the center’s website will enable researchers to search a database of over 1,300 grants, find collaborators, and keep track of grant-related files and to-do lists. To design the site, software developers at Children’s Hospital Boston consulted hundreds of HMS scientists about their grant-writing experiences and usage of online social networks.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a top-three risk factor for developing colon cancer in humans. New work from HSPH uncovers the cellular and molecular links between ulcerative colitis, a form of chronic inflammatory bowel disease, and colon cancer. The work, from the lab of Laurie Glimcher and described in the Sept. 8 Cancer Cell, hinges on a mouse model that reliably develops ulcerative colitis and, in turn, full-blown colorectal cancer. By identifying the cellular and molecular culprits that cause cancer to emerge, this research suggests promising therapeutic approaches for colorectal cancer and ulcerative colitis and provides a robust platform for preclinical testing of possible treatments.

Shortly before his death on Sept. 15, Leon Eisenberg talked with Focus about the establishment of affirmative action at the Medical School. Among his many extraordinary accomplishments, Eisenberg was proudest of his role as a leader of this initiative. We are running this story in honor of Eisenberg, his colleagues, and their legacy at HMS.

HMS–HSPH health effectiveness program graduates first class.

Office for Diversity and Community Partnership puts competence and confidence at the top of the program’s goals.